I am personally of the opinion that we need a drastically different approach to dealing with drugs. So that is my view.

My question is for the people who are in favor of continuing the war on drugs.
Bear with me for a second. I think the war on drugs is only having a very small effect toward the goal of preventing americans from getting drugs. I would guess for every $1 worth of drugs we prevent, $100 gets through. And it costs us $100 in resources to keep out that $1.
That is a terrible return on our money. And it looks to me like we are losing ground. We are not winning.

So if you support the war on drugs, how do you see this going? Are you comfortable with continuing down the same path and just hoping for the best?

The thing I've never figured out is a country like Holland - no "War on Drugs" (to say the least) over there but the Dutch don't seem to be falling apart. Heck, seems they have their country more together than Italy or Greece and I haven't heard of them needing a bailout.

For those who wage it, and those who prosper from it, the war on drugs is very successful.
For the rest of us, it is a war on self: divisive; unwinnable; unsustainable and destructive. The jails are full and the treasuries are overburdened, with no end, or even an objective in sight.

I am personally of the opinion that we need a drastically different approach to dealing with drugs. So that is my view.

...?

Out of curiousity what drastically different approach do you suggest?

__________________Bruce I never talked to anyone who had to fire their gun who said "I wished I had the smaller gun and fewer rounds with me"Just because you find a hundred people who agree with you on the internet does not mean you're right.

I don't belive in treatment at all, to me that makes it look like a drug addict has a illness which they do not... A drug addict has a deficit of responsibility, accountability, concern toward others, healthy concern for themselves, and just all-around complete lack of judgement and a surplus of selfishness...

I like the appraoch my Dad has always mentioned... When drugs are confiscated, just poison the crap and put it back out on the streets... It will only kill who it needs to, and drugs will quickly start to carry a pretty lethal reputation and maybe it'll act as a deterrent... If it's not a deterrent, who gives a $h** cause it will just kill the ones that can't head a warning...

There comes a point with a serious problems that ya got to lose compassion, and just fix the ********** problem... I say F'em -- killem all...
It's time responsible and contributing citizens get all that they deserve from the society in which we've conributed to...

BTW - I've never smoked a joint in my life, but I don't think weed is a real big deal that needs to soak up much of our tax $$...

Probably something along the lines of legalizing pot and increasing money on treatment programs.
Honestly, my approach would simply be to do some research and find out what actually works and move in that direction, screw what people "think" should work. What we are doing doesn't work, but we keep doing it.

When I was in spain kids a lot younger than adults drank alcohol. None of the locals thought it was a big deal. And they were never drunk like the americans were. Maybe there is a lesson in there.

De-criminalize drug use across the board and stop making total abstinence a condition for employment, health care, and social services in the form of mandatory drug testing, for starters. Recognize the difference between the recreational pot smoker and the daily heroin addict. Stop treating a voluntary behavior as both a lifelong disease and a criminal activity. Stop lying to children in an attempt to scare them into adopting a totally-abstinent lifestyle. Recognize, at a federal level, the genuine medicinal applications of marijuana. Admit and accept as a society that a small percentage of that society is going to act irresponsibly in their consumption of mind-altering substances, while the overwhelming majority of those who do so, do so moderately.

I would consider decriminalization but as far as employment goes I think that should be left up to employers. Unless someone can show that the F16 driver does as well after testing positive. As far as medical use of marijuana if the guys at Brigham and Womens, Cleveland Clinic, Reagan, Bethesda, MGH etc. decide it has benefit, I agree.

__________________Bruce I never talked to anyone who had to fire their gun who said "I wished I had the smaller gun and fewer rounds with me"Just because you find a hundred people who agree with you on the internet does not mean you're right.

Admit and accept as a society that a small percentage of that society is going to act irresponsibly in their consumption of mind-altering substances, while the overwhelming majority of those who do so, do so moderately.

I think that's pretty much it right there. We already have years and years of experience/evidence when looking at the drug alcohol.

Also I'm gonna go way way out on a limb and suggest this thread will have the same fate as others of the same topic.

__________________Bruce I never talked to anyone who had to fire their gun who said "I wished I had the smaller gun and fewer rounds with me"Just because you find a hundred people who agree with you on the internet does not mean you're right.

As far as medical use of marijuana if the guys at Brigham and Womens, Cleveland Clinic, Reagan, Bethesda, MGH etc. decide it has benefit, I agree.

I have 3 bad discs and nerve damage in both my ankles, chronic pain. You'd be surprised how many people have told me that a small amount of THC would stomp out the pain and leave me perfectly functional. Not really an option for me though. I'm not into doing illegal stuff.